Pos: 67.9612,-109.9693
Loc: Desbarats Inlet
Acc: Hilleberg Keron 4
Dist: 60,9 km
Start: 5:50 End: 19:55

It should be an okay paddling dy today. After a rest day, I feel energetic to push on. Karel has sent me the outlook for the week. So far, tomorrow and two more days, it will be more rest days, but then from Sunday, at least five good days in a row. If it does not change, it will likely get me to Cambridge Bay. But things can change so quickly here.
I have an ambitious goal today to paddle almost to the Galena Islands, the start of the easier crossing of Bathurst Inlet. It will be around seventy kilometers, but who cares as I have three days off after that. It is a fifteen knots northerly sidewind in the morning, with some choppy waves not giving me much good speed. But I rogree with a little under five kilometers per hour. The chop calms out, so does the wind, but it is now blowing about ten knots north- east all day. A dark towering chain of islands looms to my left all dayfar offshore, it feels like I am locked in hee on this much more mellow coast. I hop from point to point, with deep indented sandy coves everywhere. Therocky pointsand islands show a lot of colors with wide veins as if the creator forgot to finish kneeding two sorts of rocks together and left the marbel pattern.
I squeeze behind a bunch of islands, but feel the headwind all day. Pace is slow, but steady. I once more contemplate to shortcut via a long canyon and an unknown portage, but decide again to paddle around the top. Conditions are not bad, just tedious.
Turning finally almost due east at the top of this long rocky peninsula, I should have called it a day there, but y stubbornness lets me continue to my original destination. Thins get wors when turning south-east. The continuous north-easterly wind stands righton the rocky wall with few landings, and creates a Bronco ride shaking me and my kayak to the bones. But it is only about keep on going, it does not really feel dangerous or unstable, just still slow by not really reaching my regular five kilometers per hour average.
One really nice good landing beach comes up about two kilometers into the choppy shaky ride, but I think I do not have enough yet. Some more gravel landings are not good enough to stay for the expected three days off, so I keep pushing on for another useless five kilometers, no other choice now. From the tip of the peninsula or from that inviting beach in thet deep indention, I could as well cross over to the north-western tip of the Cockburn Islands, with even a little shorter distance as where I finlly end up. But I still hope for the easy crossing via the Galeena Islands and push on.
But when finally after a lot of concentrated choppy ride the Desbarats Inlet comes up where I marked a bay to land, I have enough and call it a day. No more ten kilometers paddling as originally planned, it will not give me much advantage. I have no problems crossing twenty-five kilometers when conditions are finally right again on hopefully Sunday.
I see an inviting gravel beach right at the northern entrance of Desbarats Inlet, as well as on the southernend, but I am curious abou the green bay I marked about fsevenhundred meters more into the inlet. I glie relaxed into the now calm water, the wind pushing me nicely. The rocky walls to each side are high but sloping and give shelter, but I am wondering if I feel happy in here for three days, disconnected from the view of the crossing. The green cove I selected is lovely with a small river at the end, but does not really give me a nice campsite. Also, the wind is blowing in here, so what it is worth, I head back to the entrance and land on the steep but calm and fine gravel beach.
I find a leveld spot high up where other people have left large rocks from camping, so I am not the first to chose thie spot for the night. I set my tent first and conveniently use the heavy rocks around to secure the pegs properly, and carry my bags in later as I is already a little drizzling. But it holds up with a real downpour until I have all set and am nicely inside, thak goodness. I take my tine to organize things, knowing I will not leave this spot for the next three days at least. Thankfully, I refilled my waterbags at the last spot’s closeby small running river, so I have nothing to suffer these rest days. I am not sure if I am keen for a walk for water in the next day’s wind and likely rain, but it would be good to leave with once more full bags. I like to have always a backup of three to four four-liter bags, although I carry six. No writing tonight, I just texted my position to Peter, Karel and my son with his father. I will sleep well and long.